USA > New York > Jefferson County > Genealogical and family history of the county of Jefferson, New York, Volume II > Part 29
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During the civil war Colonel Outterson recruited a company which went out in 1864 as a part of the One Hundred and Eighty-fourth Regi- ment New York Infantry, under his command as captain. This regi- ment was immediately placed at the front, and was much of the time
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under fire, though it did not take part in any heavy engagement. It was the first to enter the Confederate capital after its evacuation by the rebel forces. Through his connection with the Grand Army of the Republic, Captain Outterson is now known by the title of colonel. He affiliates with Joe. Spratt Post No. 323, of that order, in Watertown, having served several times as its commander, and in other official con- nections. He is a member of the Watertown Lodge, Chapter and Com- mandery of the Masonic fraternity, and the Scottish Rite bodies of the same order. He is a faithful member of Trinity ( Protestant Episcopal) church, and of the Lincoln League, the last indicating the stability of his Republicanism.
Mr. Outterson has been three times married. His first vedding occurred in 1856, the bride being Miss Frances Jones, a native of Pu- laski, daughter of Chauncey and Susan Jones, old residents of that town Mrs. Outterson died in 1878, and in 1880 Mr. Outterson married Mar- garet Weaver, who was born at Sandy Hill, this state, and died Febru- ary, 1890. The third marriage took place in 1896, to Eudora Pelton, of Chautauqua county. Five children were given to Mr. Outterson and his first wife. Chauncey R., the first, died when seventeen years old. Proper mention of the second, James l., appears on another page. Charles is a resident of Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, where he operates a pulp and paper mill. Frances Mabel married W. H. M.Ionty, of Albany, and Catherine is the wife of Alvin Bernier, of New York city. An adopted daughter, Blanche, resides with her foster parents.
CAPTAIN JESSE EDWIN WILLES, deceased, one of the most highly respected and honored citizens of Carthage, passed away at his home in that village May 12, 1889, and his demise was regretted and mourned by all classes of citizens.
He was born March 14, 1821, at Berne, Albany county, New York, being the son of Chester and Sally (Gallup) Willes, the former of English descent and the latter of Dutch ancestry, born in Berne, Albany county, this state, where she was married. Chester Willes was an early resident of Carthage, coming from Dexter, and was engaged in the man- ufacture of axes, at which his son was employed. At about the age of eighteen, Jesse E. Willes went to Antwerp, this county, where he learned the trade of blacksmith, with one Hill, serving until he was twenty-one years of age. There he met and married Miss Betsey Seymour, daugh- ter of a native Scotchman, Asher Seymour, in 1844. She was born
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August 22, 1822, at Antwerp, and died at Carthage, November 16, 1875. leaving a son-Franklin Eugene Willes, now a prominent busi- ness man of Evansville, Indiana. Jesse E. Willes, operated a blacksmith shop at Somerville, St. Lawrence county, for about two years, and then moved to Antwerp, Jefferson county, where he continued in the black- smithing business for several years. He finally traded his shop for a farm, which he successfully conducted until 1861. when he sold out and re- moved to Carthage, New York.
Early in 1862 he enlisted as a soldier and raised a company of men which was mustered into the United States service, but he himself was rejected on account of physical disability. He was, however, ap- pointed a regimental quartermaster with the rank of captain, June 24, 1864, and sent to Keokuk, Iowa, where he remained until February, 1866, closing up the affairs of the military post after the war, and re- ceiving his discharge at the latter date.
Soon after this he became interested in the manufacture of iron nails and axes at Carthage, in association with Miles Gardner, but their mill was swept away by high water in 1869, destroying in one night the savings of years of toil and industry. Mr. Willes was not one to sub- mit idly to misfortune, and after going through bankruptcy he subse- quently paid every dollar of honest debt and left a clear record as a most valuable heritage to huis son. In February, 1869, he was appointed postmaster at Carthage, and continued to fill that position for twelve consecutive years. It is notable that his accounts always balanced to a penny, and he was frequently complimented by the postoffice officials for the excellent state of affairs under his administration. This was the result of constant personal attention to his official duties, and was a fair illustration of the character of the man. In his old age misfortune continued to pursue him, and his home and all his papers were de- stroyed in the "great fire" of October 20, 1884. In the following year he erected on the site the handsome home now occupied by his widow. He also built the first brick block in Carthage.
Mr. Willes was always active in promoting the best interests of the community and took an active part in political affairs. In 1853 he was elected to the assembly from the Jefferson county district on the Prohibi- tion ticket, defeating Whig and Democratic opponents, and served with credit to himself and his district. On the organization of the Republican party he was one of its ardent supporters, and never wavered in alle- giance to its principles. In Carthage he worshiped at the Presbyterian
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church. He was a member of the Masonic fraternity, and of the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows, holding membership at Antwerp, and was often called upon to act as chaplain with the local lodge at funerals. In his last years he was somewhat disabled as the result of a fall of twenty-five feet from the tower of the Presbyterian church, and was compelled to decline the offer of the Republican nomination for sheriff (practically equivalent to an election ) because his health would not per- mit him to serve. He was ever independent, refusing to submit to "boss" rule, and stood honest and fearless before men, and was honored and beloved for his spotless integrity. He was industrious and tem- perate, his word was his bond, and no stain blots or mars his name or character.
December 23, 1876, Mr. Willes married Miss Mary E. Miller, a native of Morristown, New York, daughter of Paschal and Emily ( Canfield ) Miller. Paschal Miller was born October 10. 1797, and died August 8. 1846. He was a son of Rev. Alexander Miller, of Hack- ensack, New Jersey, who was married April 26. 1786, to Elizabeth Ayers, went to AAlbany county, this state, and moved thence to Ogdens- burg in 1810. Emily Canfield was a daughter of John and Rebecca (Smith) Canfield, of Sandisfield. Massachusetts. She was born Au- gust 8. 1815. at Copenhagen, New York, was married to Paschal Miller July 23. 1838, and died April 9. 1892, at Hammond, St. Lawrence county, New York, aged seventy-six years. After the death of Mr. Mil- ler she married John Griffin. The ancestry of Rebecca ( Smith ) Canfield is traced as follows :
I. Ralph Smith, born about 1600, came from Hingham, Norfolk, England, about 1635, and moved from Hingham, Massachusetts, to Eastham Cape Cod. in 1645. There he died in 1685. His first wife. mother of his children, was Rebecca Hobart, and his second wife bore the name of Grace.
2. Samuel, second child and eldest son of Ralph Smith, was born in 1641, at Hingham, and died March 22, 1697, at Eastham. He mar- ried, January 3. 1665. Mary, daughter of Giles Hopkins, a son of Stephen Hopkins. She was born at Yarmouth in 1640, and died March 20, 1696.
3. John, fourth child and third son of Samuel and Mary Smith, born March 26. 1673. at Eastham, died in Chatham about 1717. He married, May 14. 1694. at Eastham. Bethia Snow. a descendant of
John Mellan Wormer.
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Nicholas and Constance Snow, the last-named a daughter of Stephen Hopkins.
4. Samuel, second child and second son of John and Bethiah Smith, born May 21, 1696. at Eastham, married, July 19, 1718, Mercy Hig- gins, of Eastham. She died September 25, 1736, and he subsequently married Sarah Snow, a descendant of Stephen Hopkins.
5. Stephen, fourth child and third son of Samuel and Mercy Smith, born September 28. 1744, at Eastham, died in Sandisfield. Mas- sachusetts, about 1839. He married, at Eastham, January 18, 1766. Sarah Pepper, a descendant of Isaac Pepper, an early settler of Easthan. She ched at Sandisfield, August 16, 1796.
6. Rebecca, third child and second daughter of Stephen and Sarah Smith, married John Canfield, as above related. She was born April 14, 1775, in Sandisfield.
JOHN RUFUS VAN WORMER was born in Adams. Jeffer- son county, New York, March 144, 1849, and was educated in the schools of his native village. Shortly after the outbreak of the Civil war he learned telegraphy and soon became an expert operator. work- ing in many of the principal cities of the state, also writing for the newspapers on political subjects, and finally becoming actively inter- ested in politics. Mr. Van Wormer was studious, industrious, per- sistent, far-sighted, and had a decided preference for the study and in- vestigation of economic, philosophical and historic subjects. Before arriving at the years of maturity he was proficient in the discussion of public questions. From the moment his means permitted he became a collector of fine books, a habit which strengthens with his years. While in the employ of the Western Union Telegraph Company at Al- bany, New York. during the winter of 1876-77, Mr. Van Wormer was the private secretary of the Hon. George B. Sloan, of Oswego, speaker of the assembly. Shortly after the close of the legislative ses- sion he went to. Washington as the private secretary of the Hon. Ros- coe Conkling and clerk of the committee on commerce of the United States senate. For two years Mr. Van Wormer was associated in a confidential capacity with Hon. Thomas L. James in the New York postoffice, and when this gentleman became postmaster-general in the cabinet of President Garfield, in 1881, again returned to Washing- ton as his secretary. Soon after he was made chief clerk of the de- partment and its executive officer, in which capacity he served through-
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out the brief but notable administration of Mr. James. The reorganiza- tion of the postoffice department proper, and the celebrated "Star Route " exposures and investigations which promptly succeeded Mr. James's incumbency of the office of postmaster-general, afforded an ad- mirable opportunity for Mr. Van Wormer to display his business abil- ity, his great capacity for work, his wide knowledge of men and things, and his promptness and fearlessness in meeting emergencies. After the tragic death of President Garfield, Mr. Van Wormer decided to retire from politics. In 1882 he accepted the position of teller of the Lincoln National Bank, which had just been organized. The bank was situated at the corner of Forty-second street and Vanderbilt ave- nue, opposite the Grand Central Station, in the city of New York, and the Hon. Thomas L. James was its president. Later Mr. Van Wormer became secretary, treasurer and general manager of the Lincoln Safe Deposit and Warehouse Company, 32-42 East Forty-second street and 45-55 East Forty-first street, which in 1883 became the permanent home of the bank. The large group of buildings of the Safe Deposit Company, opposite the Grand Central Station, was the first structure devoted to banking and fine warehouse purposes which was built en- tirely without the use of wood. The business of the "Lincoln " em- braces the warehousing of household effects and works of art, the stor- age of silver-plate and bullion, the care of furs, rugs, carpets, tapes- tries and personal apparel in cold storage compartments, and the guar- anteeing of the same against loss from burglary, fire or moth, the renting of safes in burglar-proof vaults, etc. The volume of the busi- ness is very large, and the personal property in the custody of the com- pany amounts in value to hundreds of millions of dollars. From the early days of its career the Lincoln was financially successful. In re- spect to the policy of its management its up-to-date methods and the perfection of its equipment, it is regarded by the warehousemen of the country as being a model of its kind. The Brooklyn Warehouse and Storage Company, on Schermerhorn street, near Third avenue and Nevin street, in the borough from which its name was derived, was organized and the first fireproof warehouse built some fifteen years ago. It has been enlarged since, and is in every way a successful enterprise. Mr. Van Wormer was one of the principal organizers of this company, and was chairman of the building committee, and from the outset has been its vice-president.
In 1886 Mr. Van Wormer joined the Union League Club of his
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adopted city. In 1892 and 1893 he was secretary of the club. For three years thereafter he was a member of the executive committee and chairman of the house committee. The New York Athletic Club was organized in 1868 by a few enthusiastic oarsmen, gymnasts and amateur devotees of field sports. In 1885 it was strong enough to build, at the corner of Sixth avenue and Fifty-fifth street, the first important struc- ture designed for and exclusively devoted to athletic purposes. Every- where in the world where interest was taken in amateur athletics this achievement was regarded as phenomenal. By 1895 the board of gov- ernors was satisfied that this building was obsolete and inadequate. and that immediate steps must be taken to provide more commodious and modern quarters. In 1892 a fine plot of ground had been purchased on the corner of Sixth avenue and Fifty-ninth street, overlooking Cen- tral Park. AA building and finance committee of eleven members of the club was appointed, clothed with authority to manage the finances of the enterprise and oversee the construction of one of the largest and most unique club houses in the country. Mr. James Whitney, the presi- dent of the club, was chairman of the committee, and Mr. Van Wor- mer, then vice-president, was a member. The new house was completed and occupied March 26, 1898. At the end of the year 1899 the finances of the organization were in an unsatisfactory condition : the income did not meet the expenses and fixed charges, and the liabilities were above a million of dollars. Every person who is experienced in the manage- ment of club affairs, and particularly of club finances, is aware of the inherent difficulties which characterize them even in prosperous times. Mr. Van Wormer was unanimously elected president, and began his administration early in January. 1900. In January, 1905, he was elected president for the sixth time. During the five years and more of his administration the liabilities have been decreased over $150.000, and will be further decreased in 1905 by some $75.000. During the same period more than $190,000, were spent on the property for repairs, betterments and equipment. The city club house is absolutely com- plete in its appointments ; it has a large swimming pool, Turkish and Russian baths, a two-story gymnasium, boxing, wrestling and fencing rooms, tennis and squash courts. bowling alleys, a billiard and pool room. a large library, eighty fine sleeping rooms, kitchens and laun- dries on the roof, and facilities to serve dinner to five hundred people at one sitting.
On Long Island Sound, near New Rochelle, the club owns Traver's
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Island, which is used as a country house and for the purpose of training rowing crews and a large number of young athletes in the various phases of field sports. The membership of the New York Athletic Club is over four thousand six hundred, and its income in 1904 was above $758,000.
In addition to the athletic club, Mr. Van Wormer is a member of the Union League, Magnetic, Manhasset. New York Yacht and Larch- mont Yacht Clubs; and of the following societies: Holland, Saint Nicholas, New England, and the Sons of the American Revolution. In 1904 Colgate University conferred upon Mr. Van Wormer the honor- ary degree of Master of Arts.
Mr. Van Wormer's Dutch ancestors arrived in New Amsterdam from Holland in 1630. They were from the small village of Wormer, on a canal near Amsterdam. His great-great-grandfather, Henry Van Wormer, married Catalina Brower, who was descended in a direct line from the Rev. Everardus Bogardus and the famous Anneke Jans; his great-grandfather, who married Polly Oller, was born in Schaghticooke, Albany county, New York, later Rensselaer county. Schaghticooke was situated on the Hoosic river, which empties into the Hudson, and was in pre-revolutionary times the home of a tribe of Indians of that name which adhered to the colonial cause and a part of whom were captured by the British and their Indian allies and taken to Canada. For many years before as well as during the Revolution, the region in question was disputed and sanguinary ground, and its inhabitants never knew what the feeling of absolute security was. Even the boys were taught woodcraft, a knowledge of the habits and warfare of the Indians, and how to load quick and shoot straight. One of the numerous children of Jacob Van Wormer and Polly Oller was Abraham, born in 1789. He went to Jefferson county as a soldier during the war of 1812. Early in 1815 be married Clarissa Richardson and settled in Ellisburg, of the same county, where some of his kindred had been for several years. Clarissa Richardson was a daughter of Rufus Richardson and Sarah Hollen, of Barrie, Massachusetts. The Richardsons came to New Eng- land from Essex. England, in 1630. Rufus Van Wormer married Eunice M. Bullock, of South Trenton, Oneida county, New York, where her father, Royal Bullock, a native of Guilford, Wyndham county, Ver- mont, settled in 1804. Her mother was Eunice Pennell, whose father, Andrew W. Pennell, emigrated from Halifax. Vermont, to Belleville. Jefferson county, New York, in 1805. Rufus Richardson Van Wormer
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and Eunice M. Bullock had John Rufus Van Wormer. The emigrant Pennell came to Pelham. Massachusets, from Yorkshire, England. in 1728. In 1738, with his family, he settled in Colrain, Massachusetts. a frontier town near Deerfield, in the valley of the Connecticut river. On both sides the ancestors of Mr. Van Wormer were pioneers accus- tomed to exposure, physical hardships, and the dangers of Indian inva- sion. In the early days the men, long before they reached manhood, bore arms against the French and Indians, and later helped to defend their homes against the British and their allies.
In course of the Revolutionary war this singular coincidence hap- pened : At the battles of Bemis Heights and Stillwater, usually referred to as the battle of Saratoga, the following ancestors of Mr. Van Wor- mer participated : John Pennell, grandfather of his mother, who was captain of the Halifax company of the Cumberland county militia, New Hampshire Grants, afterward Vermont ; Shubael Bullock, his mother's great-grandfather, a corporal in the Guilford company, Cumberland county militia; Rufus Richardson, his father's maternal grandfather, of Barrie, Massachusetts, of the Massachusetts Line, and, for a brief time a member of Washington's life Guards: Henry Van Wormer, of Schaghticooke, New York, his paternal great-great-grandfather, and Jacob Van Wormer, a lieutenant in the Third Company of Van Rens- selaer's Albany County Regiment. Mr. Van Wormer is a single man
HON. WILLIAM W. TAGGART AND HENRY W. TAGGART. Conspicuous among the leading and prominent families of Jefferson county, New York, is the Taggart family, represented in the present generation by the Hon. William W. and his son Henry W. Taggart, who have contributed in a large degree to the distinction Watertown enjoys in being the most important industrial city in northern New York. On the paternal side he is a descendant of Henry Taggart, who immigrated to this country from the Isle of Man and settled in Newport, Rhode Island, where he was a wholesale merchant, engaged in the West India trade almost two centuries ago. His son, Joseph Taggart, was born in Newport, and became a pioneer in the Black River country. He came to this region with his family during the opening years of the nineteenth century, and engaged in farming in the town of Le Ray. Henry Taggart, son of Joseph Taggart, married Julina Dighton, daugh- ter of John Dighton, of Oxford. England, who came to this country as a soldier in General Burgoyne's army, and after the first battle of Sara-
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toga. deserted and served for some time in the American army during the latter part of the revolutionary war. He subsequently became a res- ident of Pamelia, where he died.
William W. Taggart, fourth child of Henry and Julina Taggart, was born in Le Ray, New York, December 28. 1825. His early edu- cation was acquired in the common schools and the academies at Evans Mills, Gouverneur and Watertown. In 1846 he became a student at Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut, from which he was graduated in the class of 1849. He then went west and remained in that section of the country a few years, but, determining to enter profes- sional life, he returned home and studied law in the office of Mullin & Merwin. He was admitted to practice in 1856, began professional work at Terre Haute, Indiana, but after less than two years' residence in that city circumstances at home required his return to the east, and he again took up his abode on the old farm in Le Ray. Subsequently he en- gaged in law practice in the office of David M. Bennett, in Watertown, New York, but after a period of years circumstances, aided by personal inclination, drew him away from this vocation and turned his energies in another direction. In 1866 he was one of the factors in the organiza- tion of a company for the manufacture of manila paper. the first enter- prise of its kind on the river. The industry was established and put into successful operation. and after a period of five years Byron B. and William W. Taggart became sole proprietors, thus originating the firm of Taggart Brothers, which was afterward so conspicuously and promi- nently identified with many of the most extensive and successful manu- facturing enterprises in the Black River region until the death of Byron B. Taggart, January 20, 1897.
In 1886, for business convenience, the old firm of Taggart Brothers was converted into a stock company, under the style of Taggart Broth- ers' Company. taking into partnership Henry W. Taggart, son of Will- iam W. Taggart, and George C. Sherman. son-in-law of William W. Taggart. He has also given considerable attention to other business undertakings. taking a leading part in the organization of the Taggart Paper Company at Felt's Mills, was a director and president of the National Union Bank, president of the Watertown Savings Bank, pres- ident of the Taggart Paper Company and the Taggart Brothers Com- pany, succeeding to these positions on the death of his brother. In 1859 Mr. Taggart was elected to the assembly, serving during the legislative session of 1860. in 1865 became special surrogate. succeeding Judge
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Sawyer. resigned, and in the fall of 1867 was elected surrogate of the county, serving in that capacity two terms, one of four and one of six years. His church relations are with the Presbyterian denomination, holding membership in the Presbyterian church of Watertown for more than thirty years, and his political affiliations were formerly with the Whig, but later with the Republican party. He enjoys the distinction of having encircled the globe, the journey occupying nearly a year, and included visits to all the oriental countries along the route of travel- Japan, China, the English Straits settlement. Ceylon, India, Constantin- ople, Greece and Sicily. He has also traveled over all the states and principal cities of the Union, the Dominion of Canada, Alaska, Mexico and Cuba.
On December 19. 1860, Mr. Taggart married Susan S. Lee, a dauglı- ter of Daniel Lee, a prominent citizen and public official of the county seat. Two children were born of this union-Alice L., wife of George C. Sherman, and Henry W. Taggart. Mrs. Taggart died August 20, 1866.
Henry W. Taggart, only son of William W. and Susan S. Taggart, was born in the house where he now resides in Watertown, New York. After completing the regular course of instruction in the schools of Jefferson county, being then eighteen years of age, be began his busi- ness career by entering the employ of the firm of Taggart Brothers, man- ufacturers of manila paper, and by faithful and efficient service and close application to business he earned and received the appointment, in 1889, of secretary of the incorporated company, conducting business under the firm name of Taggart Brothers Company. Mr. Taggart is an hon- ored member of the Union Club of Watertown, New York.
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